“Spike Jonze's IKEA commercial played on the exact same human tendency”
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We all know it's not sentient, but for some reason it still hurts to read. Spike Jonze's IKEA commercial played on the exact same human tendency: this video
Ikea "Lamp" Commercial - Hi Res
694K views · Dec 20, 2007 · 1:01 · 0 HN recommenders · 5 mentions · discussed 2012–2025
A Spike Jonze-directed Ikea commercial in which a discarded lamp is treated sympathetically, until a twist undercuts the sentiment. It is a short, well-known piece of advertising.
Why Hacker News points people here: Used as the classic example of how easily humans anthropomorphize objects, brought up in AI and advertising threads.
“humans anthropomorphize things super easily, which IKEA exploited in this famous ad”HN comment, 2025
What Hacker News said 5
“Spike Jonze's famous Ikea ad”
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If it weren't offensive to someone, somewhere, they wouldn't do it. Apple, on the other hand, will never be punk. They left that path when they realized it was more profitable to become the guy on the screen in their earlier ad. A better comparison might be to Spike Jonze's famous Ikea ad ( this video ), which was also sort of disturbing to watch.
“humans anthropomorphize things super easily, which IKEA exploited in this famous ad”
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Right, humans anthropomorphize things super easily, which IKEA exploited in this famous ad: this video Now we’re spending billions of dollars to build the most anthropomorphic machines we can possibly create. Of course it’s going to mess with us, even if we know it’s happening. Another great and relevant scene: link
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Who cares if it's AI made or not. It's funny even as it is offensive to many. One thing I've always wondered, with outrage over ads like this, would this (old) ad now be considered funny or offensive? this video
“Just buying more stuff is literally how they have historically marketed themselves.”
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Given IKEA essentially produce throwaway furniture by design, I don't think they've got much of a leg to stand on when it comes to environmental responsibility. Just buying more stuff is literally how they have historically marketed themselves. this video